Police in the United States won’t be able to get a wide range of military grade equipment, including tanks and high-caliber firearms, from other federal agencies. The White House has introduced new restrictions prompted by the riots in Ferguson.

Under the new rules revealed on Monday this week, state, local
and tribal law enforcement agencies are barred from buying or
receiving from federal partners such as the Pentagon. This
includes: weaponized vehicles and grenade launchers, and
less-lethal items such as tactical vehicles, flash-bang
explosives. Riot gear can now only be acquired by law enforcers
if a list of conditions are met.

"The idea is to make sure we strike the right balance of
providing equipment that is appropriate and important, while at
the same time put standards in place that give a clear
reason for the transfer of that equipment, with clear training
and safety provisions in place," Cecilia Muñoz, the White House
director of domestic policy, told reporters in a conference call,
according to the Washington Post.

Details about the decision were announced by the White House on
Monday morning and discussed by President Barack Obama later in
the day when he spoke on community policing in Camden, New
Jersey. According to the White House, the president's speech
“highlight[s] innovative steps taken by a city that has struggled
with one of the nation's highest violent crime rates to create
economic opportunity, help police do their jobs more safely and
reduce crime in the process.”

The topic of policing has dominated public discussions since
Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, was shot and
killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri last year. The
incident was followed by a wave of demonstrations, which
attracted national attention after the Ferguson Police Department
and other regional law enforcement groups responded to the
protests clad in riot gear and equipped with high-powered
weaponry more fit for a battlefield than a St. Louis suburb.

President Obama responded to concerns surrounding the use of
militarized equipment by small-town police officers by assembling
a working group to examine the topic. Their findings have now
been released in a report that forms the basis of the
recommendations contained in the fact sheet published on Monday,
where the Ferguson events are singled out specifically.

Obama to restrict federal grants for police purchase of armored
vehicles, grenade launchers, but NOT for military spy gear like
StingRays.

In Ferguson, the group says: “The law enforcement response to
those protests was characterized as a ‘military‐style’ operation,
as evidenced by videos and photographs that showed law
enforcement officers atop armored vehicles, wearing uniforms
often associated with the military and holding military‐type
weapons.

“Even before the events in Ferguson, however, civil rights
organizations conducted significant research on the perceived
harms of ‘militarization’ of civilian law enforcement agencies in
the United States and advocated for systemic change.”

In addition to establishing lists of prohibited or controlled
items that can no longer be acquired through federal programs or
grants, the working group also recommended that law enforcement
agencies wishing to use certain equipment must adopt and adhere
to specific written policies and protocols, as well as training
and other guidelines.

Speaking from Camden later in the day, Pres. Obama said that the
militarized police response that unfolded in Ferguson and more
recently Baltimore can “alienate and intimidate local
residents” and give the impression of an occupying force,
not one meant to serve and protect.

Under the new rules rolled out this week, the president said, the
White House will “prohibit some equipment made for the
battlefield that is not appropriate for local police
department,” and at the same time “ensure that
departments have what they need but also that they have the
training to use it.”